What are they?
These are dehydrated refried beans. (They are small chips--see photo above). They are preserved with a small amount of salt, but have no other artificial ingredients. When reconstituted with water they are very similar to store-bought refried beans.
How long will they store?
At least five years.
What do they cost?
A #10 can costs $3.75, a pouch costs $3.55 and a 25 pound bag costs $25.95. These are much more economical to purchase than store-bought refried beans.
Are they nutritious?
Yes! Refried beans are very nutritious. They are preserved with salt, but don't have any other additives.
Are they easy to use?
Yes! They can be reconstituted in just a few minutes, by adding hot or boiling water. The consistency can be thick or thin, depending on how much water is added.
Do they taste good?
Yes! They taste good when reconstituted with regular water. The flavor can also be modified by using chicken broth to reconstitute them, or by adding other flavors such as onions or garlic or taco seasoning.
How can they be used in every day cooking?
Here are some examples of easy recipes that use refried beans. (Also note that many of the other ingredients in these recipes are easy to store at home (either on a shelf or in a freezer) and many of these ingredients can be economically purchased in bulk quantities or on sale.
Seven-Layer Dip
(Pictured in above photo).
Layer refried beans, cheese, sour cream, olives, avocados, green onions and tomatoes or salsa.
Serve with chips.
(Serve with fruit to make a nutritious, complete meal).
Quesadillas
Spread refried beans on a tortilla. Cover with another tortilla. Cook both sides on a griddle. Serve with salsa.
Optional: Add cheese or shredded chicken or other ingredients with the refried beans.
Burritos/Enchiladas
Use refried beans with rice and cheese to make a basic filling for burritos. Refried beans can be used as a substitute for meat in enchiladas, or it can be mixed with beef in enchiladas.
Tacos or Taco Salad
Refried beans can be used with meat in tacos or taco salad. It can also be used as a meat substitute. When reconstituting the refried beans, add taco seasoning to the mix.
Taco Salad
Crumble chips in a bowl. Then add: refried beans flavored with taco seasoning, cheese, lettuce or spinach leaves, tomatoes or salsa, olives, green onions, salad dressing or mustard or ketchup.
We recently bought outselves a 25 lb bag at the Bishops' Storehouse in Spokane Washington. We rried them out with just hot water -- thought they were delicious -- had them with chili rellenos, fresh salsa. Your recipe suggestions are excellent.
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